Underemployed

From the fourth episode onwards, 'UnderEmployed' just works. It finds the right tone, the characters become real, and the story arc becomes addictive.

The most important thing you need to understand about 'UnderEmployed' is that it is essentially a "teen" genre show. Given the seriousness of the title & age of the characters, many will likely expect the dark/cynical realism of HBO's "Girls" & "Hung". Instead, a better comparison would be shows like 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Jane By Design', or 'Vampire Diaries'.

If you have watched and enjoyed those teen shows, you will have noticed that most have rough starts. That is usually because the writers struggle with just how "obvious" to make things for a younger audience. The characters are introduced as annoying caricatures…they are either too perky, too morose, or too evil. The stories seem to be going nowhere interesting…there is no compelling arc that makes you excited for the next episode. This was a problem for all the teen shows I previously mentioned...and it is definitely a problem with the first three episodes of 'UnderEmployed'.

Thankfully (like a lot of successfully executed teen shows) 'UnderEmployed' finds itself by the fourth episode. As of this review, episodes 4/5/6/7 have aired. The characters have become comfortable in their own skin, so you begin to admire them as real human-beings. The dialogue has become more subtle & clever, which increases the emotional punch & LOL! factor of the scenes. Most importantly, you notice that each character MATTERS as an individual…despite their friendship, each is on a unique and compelling journey with no guarantee of success. All this leaves you wanting MORE after each episode.

One additional note about "characters"...'Vampire Diaries' viewers will know that the secret of the shows success is that the supporting characters are treated with as much care & respect as the main characters. They don't merely exist as "challenges" to the main characters…they have humanity of their own. I have noticed a similar thing with 'UnderEmployed'. From the fourth episode onwards, Lou & Daphne's bosses get "shades of grey"...and this makes the workplace scenes way more funny & interesting. More importantly, we are introduced to the compelling supporting characters of Jamel & Bekah. They are such unique & developed individuals, you will come to think of them as main cast members.

One note of praise about the acting & writing in recent episodes...there are a series of beautiful scenes between the new character Jamel & a regular character in the series (name withheld to avoid spoilers). The writers could have easily bombarded those scenes with snappy dialogue and raw physicality…but instead, they allowed the actors to employ silence & express awkwardness. As a result, we get scenes of great emotional poignancy & incredible tension. I hope 'UnderEmployed' continues to take creative risks like this.

To think...a few weeks ago, I was about to post a harsh review of this show. Now I am praising it and craving more!.

I watched this show one late night not really knowing what to expect... Then I found that I love this show!! It's about dreams not always coming true but people making the best of what they have.5 friends trying to live their life in New York and make something of themselves might sound a bit cliché to most but I found this show very different from the rest and now i'm hopelessly addicted! Most people can actually connect with this show because it's very true and real that dreams almost never come true. And you have to work hard in life which is what this show is all about. Especially in New York where everyone is just a little fish in a big pond which is what they are trying to relate to this series.

The show starts out with a narrator on a laptop talking about their life, much like MTV's hit show 'Awkward', which I do enjoy watching. The harsh stereotypes that this show has almost hurts, it's so cliché to any other MTV show that is out right now. I must also say that every scripted show MTV has out (ex. US Version of 'The Inbetweeners') has failed with a bad rating and low weekly viewing rating. You see a stereotype of friends with benefits, 20 year old virgins, and unpaid interns. They also live in a beautiful NEW YORK apartment, even though their unpaid, unemployed or working at a donut shop. This show isn't the worse, but it isn't the best. Not something you want to stay up till 11pm watching.

This show is pretty bad. The story lines seem pretty flimsy, the humour is mostly cringe worthy, and all the characters are irrational and unrealistic. It is a shame, because most of the actors are hot (with the exception of Lou) and the acting itself isn't terrible.

This could be a decent show, but as it stands it just seems like yet another desperate attempt by MTV to appeal to us 20-somethings feeling sorry for ourselves because 'lifes so hard'. It certainly falls short of that for me, but I can see it being a hit with kids who are fresh out of high school and expecting life to be all 'friends forever' and are gullible enough to believe that two adults and a baby can afford a 2 bedroom loft apartment on 1 salary.

I'm really surprised this crap came from the same person who produced Six Feet Under, because comparatively, this is a load of (not totally unwatchable, but still stinky) garbage.

Great Series. I have caught up and watched the first six episodes. I am really liking all the characters especially Miles, Sophia and Daphne. This show is now something that I am looking forward to each week. I encourage everyone to watch the first few episodes and let yourself get to know the characters so you can enjoy this show as much as myself. Each week I learn more about each character and like them even more. The show leaves me wondering what is going to happen next. This series reminds me of my favorite show of all time "Friends" I don't usually watch MTV but for this show is different. It is well done and entertaining.